AGENCIES, Imphal: Mohun Bagan registered an emphatic 3-0 victory away from home against NEROCA FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium on Thursday, January 23, to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points.
Nongdamba Naorem broke the deadlock in the 27th minute before creating the second goal for Papa Diawara in the 53rd minute. Substitute Komron Tursunov added the third, deep into stoppage time, to seal the deal for the Mariners.
Gift Raikhan made just a solitary change to his previous line-up, with Ronald Singh coming in for Zico Sekle, while Kibu Vicuna named an unchanged XI.
The visitors had the better exchanges in the nascent exchanges, showcasing why they have been the team to beat this season.
Long throw-ins in the final third from either flank are areas that Mohun Bagan have constantly tried to exploit this season and with Dhanachandra Singh doing the honours, his immaculate throw-in into the box was well-read by Papa Diawara, who headed it on target but Marvin Devon Phillip in the Neroca goal had it covered.
Neroca had their first crack at goal, against the run of play in the 16th minute, when a Marvin Phillip goal-kick found Boubacar Diarra, who chested it down well and after seeing Bagan keeper Sankar Roy off his line, went for glory from the half-way line. His effort gently nestled the top of the net, leaving Sankar a relieved man.
In the 24th minute, Fran Gonzales played VP Suhair through on goal with a textbook through ball down the right and with only the keeper to beat, Suhair’s attempt ricocheted off the woodwork and fell to Diawara, who had a second crack on goal with an acrobatic scissor kick, but his audacious attempt sailed over the bar.
Three minutes later, what followed was a true epitome of footballing poetry in slow motion.
With Mohun Bagan clearly running one-way traffic at this point, Neroca had started putting more men in the box, making it more challenging for Vicuna’s men to penetrate the final third.
